Introduction
According to the research that has been conducted, one of the critical issues that affect American education is the lack of education funding. Funding of schools in the United States, especially in public schools is done by the states using the taxpayer money. This will cause a difference in the way the school is funded depending on whether the school is in a high-class environment where it gets more funds and thus has more equipment to ensure they have smooth education. In areas where there are poorer the resources are minimal due to lack of funds or they are given less funds (Roberts). This is seen because of the recession that has caused the government to cut down spending. The recession that began showing in 2007, has caused many people to lose their jobs thus causes people to reduce spending their money on items than are not basic.
The money that was allocated for the education funding ended way earlier than was intended in 2011.This is considered the worst budget cuts in the education department in history. In the previous years, the only issues that were connected to education were drugs, indiscipline and violence. The research shows that 35 percent of people believe that education funding is one major problem in the recent years. The teaching jobs of so many teachers were saved by the federal stimulus package. This package has helped a lot in school in areas such as higher education funding, virtual school programs and initiatives. Evidence shows that reduced funding in schools affects sports for the materials are no longer being bought or are old. Other areas include the early childhood development, and it affects art department where the art materials are not considered important (Roberts). This evidence is researched and the findings were found by the campaign for the future of America.
According to Mark Bielang who is the chairperson of the American association of school administrators, the package has helped but not enough. Research shows some of the cities that the reduction of funding by $200 for every student has been seen is the Alaska, Washington and Alabama. Areas such as Oklahoma the reduction is by 20 percent while other states the reduction is by 10 percent. According to the statistics conducted by the national education association, about 71 percent of the population has great confidence in the education systems (Berliner, Bruce, Biddle and David).
They are therefore, willing to spend a lot of their tax payment to go to school funding. The survey also shows that many Americans citizens have concerns about the inequality in terms of education. Therefore, they are calling for reforms to urbanize the public schools. The research also shows that 89 percent of the people believe that education should also concentrate on children who live in harsh environments or come from poor background.
This will enable the students to have an enhanced future for themselves and for their communities. Research indicates that the advanced number of funding in a particular school increases the students' capability in fields like academia and in sports. According to the research conducted this year by the Centre on budget and policy priorities it states that various states will spend a reduced amount of money in individual student compared to the earlier years (Manuel). Some states have increased funding for education and a good example is Florida. Lack of education funding has caused many of the researchers to come up with a plan in which people can help and find solutions in which there will be an equal sharing of resources and funding in schools.
Parents get involved in this issue so that they can be able to help their children to have better lives in their future (Molnar). According to the statistics, examples of the well-funded schools are in areas such as Vermont where they receive around $15000 yearly while those with less funding are from Montana with an average of $4000 yearly. It is also observed that in areas with higher funding the students tend not to go to public schools rather they go to private schools. This becomes a big issue debate because people see that more funding should be done in areas where there are fewer resources or there is a big demand for school materials. They claim that poorer communities go to public school because they lack money to take their children to private schools.
Summary
According to researches that have been conducted, one of the critical issues that affect education is lack of funding in education. This is a major issue for all American schools compared to the previous dilemma that were dominating such as violence, discipline and drugs. Lack of education funding in America has many views from different researches that has been conducted. The main issue that all of them agree upon is the inequality of the funding. Funding is made possible due to the taxes paid but it is shown that the people from poor background do not get the same resources as those from rich backgrounds. They find ways in which they can find solutions for all school institutions to be funded equally.
Work cited
Berliner, Bruce J. Biddle and David C. "Unequal School Funding in the United States." educational leadership (2002).
Manuel, Howard. “Diversity & Equitable Funding in Public Education: The Ultimate Salves.” Norderstedt, Germany: Druck and Bindung: books on demand GmbH, 2010.
Molnar, Michele. "Parents' Biggest Concern: Lack of Education Funding ." Education Week's blogs (2012).
Roberts, Jane. "Poll: Americans say a lack of funding biggest education issue." Scripps Howard News Service (2013. ).
